Review: ASUS VG236H 3D Monitor

LCD monitors today come in many shapes and sizes, and while they might all seem to fulfil the same role rather effectively, ASUS has managed to go one step further with the VG236H, bringing something extra to the market.

The 23” widescreen monitor features a maximum resolution of 1920×1080, making it full HD, and with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a 2ms response time, the images are guaranteed always to be crisp and clear.

Since it’s an ASUS monitor, it has an excellent 100000:1 Smart Contrast Ratio, displaying 16.7 million colours. This might not seem like relevant information for the average user, but it’s vitally important in order to achieve the desired level of display.

The height of the monitor can also be adjusted at the base of the stand, but it’s advised to keep a hand on the monitor as it will shoot upwards rather quickly when the pin is released.

One of the many great things about the VG236, is the fact that it is Nvidia 3D Vision ready. In essence, with the right hardware, the monitor is able to display 3D-enabled content in vivid 3D.

The monitor comes boxed with the necessary equipment, such as the Nvidia glasses, the infrared emitter and a bunch of USB cables for charging. The system is rather easy to set up, as all that is required are the drivers to be installed, the 3D Vision player to be loaded, and then the screen will drastically come to life.

In terms of hardware in order to make this happen, a GeForce 9800 or greater will be needed, which can become a pricy affair it the system doesn’t already have that in. That is one flaw that we found with the monitor, as no system specifications were indicated on the box.

The content also comes with a DVI cable, which supports the 3D, but there is no sight of a HDMI cable, which makes things just a bit better and faster, and HDMI cables aren’t exactly cheap.

Most consumers will use the same monitor for their PC and gaming, and although gaming is entirely possible with the HDMI cable, don’t expect to see your games in 3D.

The monitor requires HDMI 1.4, and sadly the Xbox 360S only pushes out 1.3, and the old Xbox producing 1.2.

Then you also have the issue of the I.R emitter that needs to be plugged into a USB port, and neither the PS3 nor the Xbox has the drivers for that. But the 3D will change any video experience. It might sound like a bit of a cliché, but the images do really leap out to you. It takes a bit of a while to wrap your head (and your eyes) around it, but once you have become accustomed to the view, it’s truly amazing. Although the 3D works incredibly well, and the glasses fit over most standard spectacles, the amount of 3D content on the market can be a little bit lacking, and a little searching will be required to get hold of some titles. With that said, the VG236 is an excellent monitor to have.

The images are crisp and clear, the 3D works great and the monitor looks good as well. The only real downfall we found was the absence of a headphone jack.

At A Glance

Although it doesn’t have headphone support, the 3D works incredibly well.